[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 119, 109th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
ROSA LOUISE PARKS AND THE 1955 MONTGOMERY, AL, BUS BOYCOTT--
50TH ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION
NOTE: Nov. 18, 2005 -  [H.Con.Res.208]
Whereas most historians date the beginning of the modern-day Civil
Rights Movement in the United States to December 1, 1955;

Whereas December 1, 1955, is the date of Rosa Louise Parks' refusal to
give up her bus seat to a white man and her subsequent arrest;

Whereas Rosa Louise Parks was born on February 4, 1913, as Rosa Louise
McCauley to James and Leona McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama;

Whereas Rosa Louise Parks was educated in Pine Level, Alabama, until the
age of 11, when she enrolled in the Montgomery Industrial School for
Girls and then went on to attend the Alabama State Teachers
College's High School;

Whereas on December 18, 1932, Rosa Louise McCauley married Raymond Parks
and the two settled in Montgomery, Alabama;

Whereas, together, Raymond and Rosa Parks worked in the Montgomery,
Alabama, branch of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), where Raymond served as an active member and
Rosa served as a secretary and youth leader;

Whereas on December 1, 1955, Rosa Louise Parks was arrested for refusing
to give up her seat in the ``colored'' section of the bus to a white
man on the orders of the bus driver because the ``white'' section
was full;

Whereas the arrest of Rosa Louise Parks led African Americans and others
to boycott the Montgomery city bus line until the buses in
Montgomery were desegregated;

Whereas the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott encouraged other courageous
people across the United States to organize in protest and demand
equal rights for all;

Whereas the fearless acts of civil disobedience displayed by Rosa Louise
Parks and others resulted in a legal action challenging Montgomery's
segregated public transportation system which subsequently led to
the United States Supreme Court, on November 13, 1956, affirming a
district court decision that held that Montgomery segregation codes
deny and deprive African Americans of the equal protection of the
laws (352 U.S. 903);

Whereas, in the years following the Montgomery bus boycott, Rosa Louise
Parks moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 1957, and continued her civil
rights work through efforts that included working in the office of
Congressman John Conyers, Jr., from 1965 until

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119 STAT. 3676

1988, and starting the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self
Development, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that motivates youth to reach
their highest potential, in 1987;

Whereas Rosa Louise Parks has been commended for her work in the realm
of civil rights with such recognitions as the NAACP's Springarn
Medal in 1979, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Nonviolent Peace Prize
in 1980, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, and the
Congressional Gold Medal in 1999; and

Whereas in 2005, the year marking the 50th anniversary of Rosa Louise
Parks' refusal to give up her seat on the bus, we recognize the
courage, dignity, and determination displayed by Rosa Louise Parks
as she confronted injustice and inequality: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) recognizes and celebrates the 50th anniversary of Rosa
Louise Parks' refusal to give up her seat on the bus and the
subsequent desegregation of American society;
(2) encourages the people of the United States to recognize
and celebrate this anniversary and the subsequent legal
victories that sought to eradicate segregation in all of
American society; and
(3) endeavors to work with the same courage, dignity, and
determination exemplified by civil rights pioneer, Rosa Louise
Parks, to address modern-day inequalities and injustice.

Agreed to November 18, 2005.